Talking Animals

Dr. Temple Grandin, author, professor, expert on autism and animal cognition

This interview with Dr. Temple Grandin was delayed because the flight she was on that morning was very late landing, which we didn’t know in the first part of the show, when we were trying to reach her, and moving elements of the show around in her absence. Once we connected,

Dr Grandin, who herself is autistic, addressed the early reporting of the Newtown mass killing where it was reported that gunman Adam Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, with the suggestion that Lanza having Asperger’s bore a causal connection. Dr. Grandin spent some time discussing the HBO movie Temple-Grandin-Movie-Postermade about her life “Temple Grandin” (she was portrayed by Claire Danes), including how the Emmy-winning film increased awareness of autism and a greater demand for her to speak on the topic, and responds to the notion that some viewers–otherwise unfamiliar with her saga and work–may have gotten the story wrong,
coming away with something of the inverse message. She also explained some of the current work she’s doing with animals, both at the University–she’s a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University–and in her capacity as a consultant to major food manufacturers on humane slaughter practices (yes, we recognize for some that this phrase constitutes an oxymoron). She also touches on horses, whether it’s research on their cognition she or others have conducted, how she grew up riding horses, and she spends so much time traveling these days, it would be impractical to have her own horse.   (http://www.templegrandin.com/http://www.grandin.com)

Temple & cow

COMEDY CORNER: Drew Hastings’ “Farming 101” (portion) (http://drewhastings.com)

MUSIC: Alex Wurman’s Soundtrack from “Temple Grandin” (excerpt), Corb Lund’s “Cows Around,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We did not play Name That Animal Tune today.